Fueled by his "obsession" with teenage boys and an "uncontrollable need and urge to communicate sexually" with them, a former Scranton school director is accused of sending more than 12,000 text messages, some of them sexually explicit, to at least five minors and is now facing federal charges.

Mark Kandel, 52, of Blakely, was arraigned in federal court Wednesday on five counts of online enticement after a grand jury handed up the indictment against him on Tuesday. He pleaded not guilty and was detained pending trial on the charges, each one of which carries a 10-year minimum sentence and the possibility of life in prison.

The federal charges come about a month after Lackawanna County detectives charged Mr. Kandel with the same type of crime and four years after he pleaded guilty to one count of furnishing alcohol to minors, the result of an investigation that began over a lewd text message Mr. Kandel reportedly sent to a 17-year-old boy.

"Despite the trouble in the past, he would not stop, and he could not stop," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Olshefsky in arguing to have Mr. Kandel detained pending trial.

Though the indictment does not disclose the details of the allegations against Mr. Kandel, elements of the case were revealed during the bail hearing that immediately followed his arraignment Wednesday.

The investigation that led to the charges uncovered more than 12,000 text messages, numerous Facebook conversations and photos shared between Mr. Kandel and his five alleged victims, Ms. Olshefsky said. She stressed that investigators believe more victims exist and said the investigation into Mr. Kandel's possible contact with them is ongoing.

"There are a lot more that need to be interviewed," she said in court.

What makes the communication criminal is the content, which Ms. Olshefsky argued appears to be "classic grooming" techniques used by pedophiles.

Mr. Kandel, whom Ms. Olshefsky described as "obsessed" with teenage boys, would become "sexually overwhelmed" during these electronic conversations and at times masturbated during them, he told investigators upon his arrest on state charges in early November.

Mr. Kandel has an "uncontrollable need and urge to communicate sexually with minors," Ms. Olshefsky said. "His conduct has indicated that he cannot control that."

Though he has only been charged for communicating with minors, Ms. Olshefsky recounted a Facebook conversation between Mr. Kandel and a minor that seemed to indicate he may have acted on his temptations.

During the conversation, Mr. Kandel told the minor to whom he was speaking that he had "touched" another minor, Ms. Olshefsky said.

"I didn't know that. I don't care," the minor responded.

"He spread his legs for me," Mr. Kandel said, according to Ms. Olshefsky.

In arguing to have Mr. Kandel detained, Ms. Olshefsky repeatedly referred to him as a danger to the community and at one point said his relationship with the minors came down to a "quid pro quo" wherein he would buy them things or provide them with alcohol and, in return, he would receive body massages, pictures and masturbation.

Mr. Kandel, who bought a minor a cellphone to use to text him, sent at least one sexually explicit photo to one of the victims, she said.

In response to Ms. Olshefsky's claims about his client, attorney Frank J. Santomauro characterized the government's case as one founded primarily on speculation and investigators' interpretations.

He repeatedly pointed out that the specific content of text messages and Facebook conversations have yet to be made public or even available to him.

Ultimately, though, the government won out for the day. "The short answer is you're going to be detained," U.S. Magisterial Judge Malachy E. Mannion said after both sides finished their arguments.

Mr. Kandel remains in Lackwanna County Prison, according to Martin Pane, U.S. marshal for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Lackawanna County First Assistant District Attorney Gene Talerico said the state charges against Mr. Kandel - for which a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday - remained active. He also urged anyone who may have been victimized by Mr. Kandel to contact police or the district attorney's office at 963-6717.

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